Frequently Asked Questions
Q. What is St. Gabriel the Archangel Parish proposing?
A. The parish is proposing a capital campaign to fund much needed renovations to Gabriel House (the old convent) and the addition of a Gathering Room connected to the Church. The full extent of any renovations and/or additions will be determined by the expected level of success of a capital campaign.
Q. Why is it important to invest in the renovation of Gabriel House?
A. Because of its convent design, the building has been underutilized in recent years and has fallen into a state of disrepair. With funds raised in a capital campaign, St. Gabriel School will have the opportunity to offer the highest level of educational excellence with new state-of-the-art classrooms and resources – preparing students for the future of tomorrow in a facility unlike any other in the Archdiocese. Further, the parish will benefit from additional meeting spaces created by the renovation.
Q. Why is it important to invest in a Gathering Room for the Church?
A. Currently, parishioners do not have a central location for welcoming, fellowship and community building. A Gathering Room will provide a location directly connected to the narthex to converse after Mass, welcome visitors and new parishioners, share coffee and donuts, gather and pray, prepare for weddings, mourn before funeral services, celebrate after baptisms – and host a wide variety of meetings for parish organizations.
Q. Will the Church building be renovated or remodeled as part of the campaign?
A. No. The body of the church will not be changed. A simple doorway at the old baptistry will connect the narthex of the Church to the new Gathering Room. Regular maintenance of the Church (including plaster and paint repair) is budgeted and will occur – separate from any campaign.
Q. Will the proposed Gathering Room and remodeled Gabriel House be ADA compliant?
A. Yes! The Gathering Space will include direct access from the Church, the hallway between the Church and Rectory, and a ramp from the sidewalk on Nottingham. An elevator will be added to Gabriel House to provide easy access to all three levels, and a ramp will be added to provide direct access to the main floor. Additional ADA compliant modifications, such as larger restroom facilities, will be included throughout both projects.
Q. How will the parish determine if a capital campaign will be successful?
A. Every parish and school family had the opportunity to participate in a feasibility study in early 2024. The results of that study along with additional feedback received by the committee indicate that families of St. Gabriel Parish and School strongly support conducting a capital campaign to renovate Gabriel House and add a Gathering Room next to the Church. In addition to this strong attitudinal support, the parish will also factor in whether there is a high likelihood of funds being available from generous donors to complete the proposed projects.
Q. What were the results of the feasibility study?
A. With over 325 responses, the results of the study can be summarized as follows:
Significant enthusiasm was expressed for both proposed projects – and for conducting a campaign.
A Gabriel House renovation is necessary, must be flexible to include school use and parish use. The proposed addition made the project too large.
Support for the Gathering Space concept was strong, but many parishioners felt that the current designs were too small. Many feel it should be built as large as possible.
Some respondents were concerned about St. Gabriel’s merging with other parishes or schools. There is no plan for this. Thus, Fr. Molini must continue to make this point clear to parishioners. Specific to St. Gabriel and St. Raphael, they are two independent parishes with two independent parish elementary schools and two separate and strong parish communities. There are no plans for any changes to this configuration.
Parishioners want the Archdiocese to show support for this effort in a tangible manner. Fr. Molini has already broached this subject with those involved and is in the process of taking next steps.
The original proposal for a $7.2M capital campaign was viewed as too large. Still, conducting a capital campaign was supported by the vast majority of survey respondents.
Q. How will the feasibility study results affect the proposed campaign?
A. In light of the study results, the following changes are being made:
The Gabriel House renovation will be scaled back to remove the proposed addition. New plans will also utilize the space to better fit both school and parish needs.
The Gathering Room will be redesigned to increase capacity while still maintaining an aesthetic complementary to both the church and rectory.
The overall financial goal of the capital campaign will be lowered in accordance with the feedback received. That goal is still TBD pending final drawings and additional consultations with parish leaders.
Q. Will the proposed capital campaign affect neighboring parishes and schools?
A. As Catholics, we are called to share our resources for the betterment of our neighborhood, Church, and world. Our only intentions in the state-of-the art renovation of Gabriel House and the addition of a Gathering Room are ensuring continued strong enrollment and education at St. Gabriel School, and further strengthening the welcoming nature of the Parish. Both St. Gabriel and St. Raphael remain strong, independent parishes and schools – as directed at the conclusion of All Things New.
Q. Have building plans been finalized?
A. Not yet. New renderings and building plans are being prepared based upon the parishioner feedback and support expressed in the feasibility study. We look forward to sharing them with you in October when the capital campaign will begin.
Q. When would a campaign, renovations and construction begin?
A. Plans are nearly finalized, and the campaign will officially kick off on the weekend of October 26-27. When 50% of the expected revenues have been raised, the parish can move forward with construction. We will keep everyone updated on specifics as we move forward.
Q. Can you be more specific as to what will be housed within the newly renovated Gabriel House?
A. The committee is currently reviewing a number of proposals based upon feedback received from the feasibility study. Over the last 20 years, Catholic parishes and schools have experienced significant changes, and will likely continue to do so in the future. To accommodate this rapidly evolving landscape, current proposals contain a mix of many state-of-the-art flexible spaces that can grow and develop with our parish and school for years to come. The committee foresees Gabriel House primarily serving as an Innovation and Creativity Hub for our 7th and 8th grade students (though students of all grades will use it) during the day, while providing additional spaces for parish groups to meet in the evening and on weekends.
Q. Wouldn’t it be easier to keep classes in the current school building?
A. We expect homerooms and various classes to continue to be held in the current school building. However, 21st century learning experiences require unique spaces for “Active Learning” in which multi-discipline collaboration and project-based learning can occur. This approach is being used in the finest Catholic and public high schools in the area. We will provide a detailed explanation of the plans at the time of the campaign’s launch. Suffice it to say, this approach will prepare our 7th and 8th graders for high school in the most advanced way – unique in the Archdiocese.
Q. Will the Gathering Room design match the Church? Will it block the windows? Will the old oak tree in front of the rectory be removed?
A. Our architect will match the exterior color and materials as well as window design to be complimentary to the Church building. The intent is for the structure to have a minimal impact on the current Church building while seamlessly connecting to the narthex of the Church. The current church windows will continue to face the sun, allowing light to enter the church. The new Gathering Room windows will match the current window design. Unfortunately, enlarging the Gathering Room will require the oak tree be removed. However, as part of this project, multiple new trees will be planted adjacent to the new room – as well as a new garden. It will be beautiful.
Q. How will construction affect the neighborhood, school and parish?
A. Complete details of this are unknown at this time and will depend on many factors after funds are raised and a contractor is the hired. The most notable effect of the construction for neighbors, school families, and parishioners will be the temporary closure of sidewalks around Gabriel House and in front of our Church, and the periodic loss of some street parking to allow space for construction equipment and workers to operate quickly and effectively. The parish and school will be working with the City of St. Louis and the neighborhood to ensure that additional space is available for parking in the school lot, and for the construction of temporary crosswalks. The school band will find a temporary home in the main school building during construction, and some parish meetings and storage facilities will have to be moved, if they have not done so already. Fortunately, Gabriel House is mostly empty and unused, so disruption from its closure will be minimal. A precise plan for this will be released after the conclusion of the campaign and prior to construction.
Q. Wasn’t this entire development opportunity studied some years ago?
A. About three years ago, a small committee was formed to begin discussions about how to best renovate Gabriel House and create a Gathering Room. However, after the Archdiocese suspended all capital campaigns throughout the All Things New process, the committee and the plans were temporarily put on hold. With the completion of All Things New, St. Gabriel has been given permission to proceed with this opportunity.
Q. Will the renovation of Gabriel House increase school enrollment, tuition and fees, and/or operational costs?
A. Increasing enrollment beyond existing classroom maximums is not our intention or expectation, and additional faculty or staff should not need to be hired. The objectives of the Gabriel House renovation are truly to provide the necessary space for the type of state-of-the-art experience needed to continue delivering an A+ education and to provide flexible school/parish meeting space. We expect this to continue creating strong demand for the school, drive young families to become parish and school families, and maintain strong property values. Renovation of Gabriel House will include updated systems and a more energy efficient design, both of which will help offset additional operational costs caused by an increase in use. Equipment costs have already been included in the project estimate.
Q. Who will have access to Gabriel House?
A. During the school day, access to Gabriel House by staff and students will be controlled using the same security measures currently in use in the school building. Details of after-hours access is still to be determined, but easy access to the building by parishioners will be a top priority.
Q. How will the addition of a Gathering Room impact the parish budget?
A. Although there will be additional utility costs for the Gathering Room, these are expected to be minor and the parish will budget for these costs accordingly. Although no fee will be charged for the use of the Gathering Room by parishioners, it is hoped that the increase in parish vitality created with the addition of the Gathering Room will also increase donations and help offset additional utility costs. Equipment costs have been built into project estimate.
Q. I fully support the renovations, how do I give?
A. Beginning with the campaign kickoff on the weekend of October 26-27, all parishioners and school families will be asked to fill out a pledge card to support the capital campaign. Donors will have the option of making their gift at a single time, spread over months and years, or both. Payments will be accepted in the form of cash, check, direct bank withdrawal via our current partner Faith Direct, stock, donor advised funds, or credit card. Further details will be provided with the information distributed on kick-off weekend. If you would like to donate prior to kick-off weekend, or would like to discuss additional donation opportunities, please contact the capital campaign committee at campaign@stgabrielstl.org.
Q. Campaigns at other institutions have offered the opportunity to name buildings, classrooms, pavers and any other number of memorials with the making of a donation. Will St. Gabriel offer similar memorials?
A. Yes. Although the exact nature of a memorial program is still being finalized, a large number of naming and memorializing opportunities will be offered. Details will be communicated at the time of the campaign launch. Please contact campaign@stgabrielstl.org for further details.
Q. Who are the committee members?
A. Fr. Thomas Molini, Bill Burnes, Mike Heithaus, Patrick McGinnis, Judy Murphy, Kevin Kozminske, Lee Hahnel, Marcus Adrian, Shawn McLain, James Backes, Monica Shripka, Jean Gruetzemacher, Tonya McEnery and Jenn Schmitt. We are seeking a special events manager and a follow-up manager to assist the committee as it moves into the campaign phase.
Q. How to help?
A. If you are interested in making a significant donation of your time or money to a capital campaign, please reach out via email to campaign@stgabrielstl.org. Additionally, and most importantly, please pray for the successful future of St. Gabriel the Archangel Parish and School.
Q. More questions?
A. Please consult the bulletin for additional updates. For questions not answered above, please reach out via email to campaign@stgabrielstl.org.